I'm leading efforts to reopen Doncaster Sheffield Airport - here's why the project will succeed: Christian Foster
Over the past year or more, we’ve started to build something special at Doncaster Sheffield Airport. While the roots of this reopening project can be traced back to late 2022, the decision made by SYMCA at their September 2025 board meeting, was the springboard for activity to really ramp up.
Those who have visited our project offices in DN9 over recent months can’t have failed to notice the incremental changes that indicate the activity required to reopen this airport.
The car park getting busier day by day as the experts required for a project of this scale are brought on board. Security. Cargo. Air traffic services. Firefighters. Aviation specialists.
And the project milestones are coming thick and fast as well. We have progressed at speed through the regulatory hurdles (including a massive response to our ACP consultation). We have placed orders for all of the high-tech equipment required to support an airport operation such as radars and fire appliances.
We have conducted detailed surveys and programmes of work to ensure this airport, its infrastructure, terminal and team, can be ready to support passengers, jobs and economic growth, as soon as is possible.
For us, that means reopening to freight flights in 2027 and passenger flights from Easter 2028. Beyond the physical milestones, there is a whole body of work that is going into not only making this airport operational but making it successful.
We have undertaken numerous positive discussions with airlines and freight businesses, who are backing our airport and our plans. Those conversations will progress further as our team and I attend industry events this month.
While there is a whole area of work that is public and visible, there is much more going on behind the scenes from a dedicated team, who are focused on one shared goal.
This project isn’t built on optimism, what-ifs and speculation, it’s built on information and intent.
While the phrase ‘commercially confidential’ can be frustrating for many, when undertaking a project of this scale, you can only release information when the time is right. Rest assured the level of interest we’ve seen in all areas, from supply chain to operations, has been extremely encouraging.
We will announce airlines and freight operators when the time is right. In the meantime, our team is singularly focused on getting the job done.
The wider context is important too. The country’s two biggest airports, which are based on the outskirts of London, have their own development plans.
Here at DSA we support growth in aviation, but that has to mean looking at both the national and international picture. We know that there is significant freight leakage from the UK in particular, which needs to be addressed if we are to unlock economic value. Yorkshire is particularly under-served when it comes to air freight capabilities, which is a travesty when you consider its geographical attributes.
With other airports investing in expanding their facilities, it’s also right as a country that we look at sweating the assets we already have.
The Prime Minister said recently: “I think we do need to have a wider discussion about what is the right airport configuration for the country in the long run, and where airports have got capacity, should that be used first before we allow further airport expansion.”
Doncaster Sheffield Airport has the capacity. We know the appetite is there. And that’s why we know this project will be a huge success.
Christian Foster is Director of FlyDoncaster Ltd